The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1887-11-09
SENATOR FRYE TALKS.
Economic Lessons Learned in the
Factories and Shops in England.

Economic Lessons Learned in the
Factories and Shops in England
New York. November S.-Senator Frye. Of
Maine, Is spending the week here as one of
the speakers in the state campaign. Tie has
been investigating the industrial situation IN
Europe ever since lasi Spring. and during his
tour abroad visited every country bui Russia
He came back few weeks ago loaded down
with information and statistics and in the
best of health and spirits. met him recent
ly lust as be was leaving with ex-senator
Miller for Albany The tariff will be the
great question before Congress this Winter,
lac said. aud in the national campaign next
year Labor represents more than half the
cost Of every manufactured article, and
made up my mind year agoto make tour
of the European workshops and learn for
myself and by actual observation just what
American manufacturers had to compete
with in the one item of wages alone. With
our mountains bulging with iron ores. our
earth with the best pottery clays, our iacto-
ries turning out as fine silks a. any woman
wants to wear, and oar furnaces making a.
good steel rails a. England can, yet the duti-
able products OF foreign labor thar reach this
country in single year amount TO over
S6p0.oo0Goo That means that the home
market has been undersold by outsiders to
that extent and that our industries are just
80 much on, OF pocket. rhe one item of
labor makes this difference in their favor, de-
spite the great natural advantages which we
possess.
What did YOU gniher from your observa-
iions in the European labor field? asked.
First. thar one-rhiri of The working peo-
pie of ali Europe arC in the most wretched
condition Of abiect poverty, replied senator
Frye. secondly. that yon may hunt over
the entire pay-rolls, as | did, and only once
in 500 names ran you find a laborer, skilled
OF otherwise, who is earning dollar a day.
In Brussels, skilled women in the lace facto-
ries a, about ~ cents day. France and
Germany do not pay any higher wages in the
same line. while Italy and switzerland pay
lea by five or six cents I went over many
Of he iron and steel factories in Belgium
aud could not find a single man VINO got
more than 50 cents. The average there was
about 90 nts.At the Lon gloaa Iron Works.
on the Clyde where they make 800 tons of
pig iron day, the laborers get from 90 70 -
cents per day; skilled men earn from %
cents 20 SLIP. and more Of them the lower
figure rather than the higher one. What
sort Of life wouldthe Pennsylvania piginon
makers live II they had such wages Why,
caal and iron miners have to work hard TO
make over ~ q week and out of that they
have To board Themselves. A good many Of
the Free-trade orators tell rs of the great
Z Clyde and It's army of contenfed workmen
4 ifthey would go over there. a. | have. and
i see nearly 4o0Oo families in Glasgow living
( in ore room apiece, and more than half the
men aud women out of work. perhaps they
would change the basis of their arguments
for tariff Induction.
The condition OF the working Iseopie OF
England and Ireland to-day continued the
Maine Senator. lis ~ near absolute pauper-
ism that il can not be called anything else
English industries are almost at a stand still.
and large proportion Of the wage-earners
are out Of work. Three dollars week is
high average among mechanics. and the So
go women employed ia the Manchester cot
ton mills make less than half that la Ger
many, the women in the cotton factories
earn from twenty 10 twenty -fiye cents day
aud the men average lifiy. In Naples. Italy.
the average wages for cotton hands are $3.50
per week taking the whole mills through /;
but the women get only eightsen cents day
and the unskilled men about double that.
The most expert operative in Venice silk
factory thai visited MAS a woman who had
worked there forty years, She averaged
twelve cents day, while hundreds of young
girls around her earned but six
II We paid such wages oser here sup
pose We could do without tariff sng-
gestcd.
- We certainly could. answered Mr.. Frye.
as,d Il the tarifrunkers snooeed We will have